I have an 87 Chris Craft with an OMC Cobra outdrive. The lower unit was replaced with a GLM unit 6 years ago. Las summer the gear set gave up. I suspect the problem started toward the end of the previous summer when I foolishly hit a rocky sandbar. (Major brain cramp, as I knew the sandbar was there.) Immediately after that I noticed a new noise in the outdrive. I suspect I chipped a tooth and took a while for the damage to become widespread. It survived until the end of last summer. I disassembled the lower unit and ordered the parts. The new and improved GLM ?heavy duty? gear set, clutch dog, and gaskets and seals. Everything else looks fine. What I don?t have is the jig for bench assembly of the drive shaft and pinion gear to determine the correct shim thickness (GLM tool 90330). I really don?t want to spend $200 on a tool I hope to never use again. I guess my question is, is it typical to have to change shims on the pinion? Or is this just an exercise in double checking that the original shim is correct? I would greatly appreciate some experienced input here.
Thanks.
Thanks.